Wear-resistant, superhard compacts are utilized in a variety of mechanical applications. For example, polycrystalline diamond compacts (“PDCs”) are used in drilling tools (e.g., cutting elements, gage trimmers, etc.), machining equipment, bearing apparatuses, wire-drawing machinery, and in other mechanical apparatuses.
PDCs have found particular utility as superhard bearing elements in fixed-position thrust bearings within subterranean drilling systems. A PDC bearing element typically includes a superhard diamond layer commonly referred to as a diamond table. The diamond table is formed and bonded to a substrate using a high-pressure/high-temperature (“HPHT”) process.
A fixed-position thrust-bearing apparatus includes a number of PDC bearing elements affixed to a support ring. The PDC bearing elements bear against PDC bearing elements of an adjacent bearing assembly during use. PDC bearing elements are typically brazed directly into a preformed recess formed in a support ring of a fixed-position thrust bearing.